Bluebird on my Windowsill
by Fluttering Phalanges
Summary: The path of life has many twists and turns, some ending more abruptly than most. Daryl Dixon meets one such occurrence in the local emergency room while watching his girlfriend, Beth Greene, get intubation tubes shoved down her throat. Existing is a bitch like that sometimes. AU/No zombies


**This is based on true events, but of course is a bethyl story with romance and that sort of thing. I'm writing this as a means of my healing and due to the fact that I like to write. It will be in six parts, this being the first. Feedback's greatly loved and appreciated, I hope this touches your heart and brings meaning to you as I hope it will for me. **

Part one: Daryl's POV

_"I did somethin' I regret."_

Daryl could only watch in horror as the doctors lifted Beth's frame from the wheelchair and placed her on the gurney. Her head lulled, eyes seemingly staring unfocused at Daryl as one of the physicians tapped heavily on the girls chest. Her face contorted into a small look of pain, the motion seeming to cause her discomfort as Daryl found himself pushed backwards as the medical assistants moved to insert various IVs in her veins.

"I need you to stay awake for me, Ms. Greene," one of the men instructed. "Can you do that?"

"I'm so tired..." she slurred, her eyes seemingly growing too heavy to keep open. "I'm so tired..."

"We're going to need to do a tracheal intubation," the man called out, looking to one of the nurses. "Do you know how much medication she took, sir?"

"No, I..." Daryl muttered, shaking his head as he watched Beth with desperation. "She jus' told me she took a damn handful!"

_"What?"_

_Daryl leaned out from underneath the car he was working on, wiping his hands on the already grimy concrete surface. He stared up at his girlfriend, noticing the gaunt expression on her features as she swayed over him. Her complexion had gone pale, limbs hanging loosely at her side. Slowly he sat up, confusion overcome with worry as he noticed how faint she appeared. _

_"Beth," he replied, his tone twisted with concern. "What did you do?"_

_Beth remained in her spot, body trembling slightly as she looked to meet his gaze. She almost seemed to struggle with consciousness as she opened her mouth, lips crusted at the corners by some sort of white powder. Daryl felt his heart pound against his rib cage, fear twisting in his gut as his girlfriend began to speak. Her tone was apologetic, almost frightened as the words slipped from her tongue, effortlessly finding their way to Daryl's ears. _

_"I took some pills." _

"Ms. Greene," the doctor repeated, lightly tapping on her chest once more. "Stay with me."

Her head turned, eyes blearily focusing on Daryl as the various orders between doctors and nurses became lost in transit. He reached forward instinctively, his body numb as his fingers brushed against her collarbone before being knocked aside by a hurrying medical assistant. He could only watch as Beth stiffened, her lids falling over her large, blue eyes as unconsciousness tugged mercilessly at her frame.

"Beth," Daryl breathed, eyes flashing to the monitors in the half expectation that they'd go crazy like in the movies. "Is she..."

"We need to get her intubated now," the doctor informed him. "I'll have a nurse escort you to the waiting room. There's some paperwork you'll need to fill out, or contact a member of her family to do so. Right now, there is nothing more you can do for her."

"I promised her I'd stay," the man insisted, looking to the doctor with great annoyance. "I ain't gonna jus'..."

"You aren't helping her by staying," the physician informed him. "We'll do everything in our power to help Ms. Greene, but until then, you can help us all out by waiting outside. Please, I don't think either of us want to go down any other road right now."

Daryl exhaled, eyes fixed on his girlfriend as she lay there before him on the gurney. Slowly he nodded his head, turning away from Beth as more nurses moved to the front of her body. He didn't even get to say goodbye. Tell her he damn well loved her and if she pulled this crap again, he'd... The thoughts swirled in his mind as he moved out of the door, leaving Beth's life in the hands of strangers.

**Much longer chapters to come. Please review! **


End file.
